New Belguim’s Kim Jordan, Beer Expo & More

Beer for Babes in 2015

Happy New Year, everyone! Did anyone try any new beers over the holidays? I drank a growler of Treehouse What She Said that was pretty awesome. I also discovered some amazing rare stouts. I heart big stouts. So, enough about me. Onto business.

This is sincerely going to be a pivotal year for Beer for Babes. Not only are we turning five in June(!) but we’re totally professionalizing the way we operate. What that means for you is more events, more regular newsletters, more social media presence, etc… We’ve got a killer team of new Babes who’re heading up new committees and are passionate and excited.This will be our best year yet.

If you haven’t heard, at our next George Street Speaker Serieswe’re conversing via SKYPE with Kim Jordan, co-founder and president of New Belgium Brewing, maker of Fat Tire and craft brewing pioneer. Event is on 1/22 from 6 to 8 at George Street Ale House, 378 George St, New Brunswick. PAYGO. I’m not exaggerating when I say that Kim is pretty much the most high-profile woman in all of beer and brewing. We’re very lucky to have her and we’re expecting a big group of women.

Do you like free beer? Are you outgoing and friendly? We needvolunteers for the International Great Beer Expo at the Meadowlands Expo Center on 1/31 and the AC Beer Fest (tenth anniversary) in AC on March 20th and 21st. You get in free to the session you’re working and you have some time to walk around and check out the beers (two bonuses – some really amazing beer that isn’t being poured usually finds its way to our table at all festivals, and if you help out at the Meadowlands’ night session, you can come to an invite-only brewers party that I host in a hotel suite. Also, if you volunteer at the Meadowlands you can get in free to the session you don’t work.) Here are the times and links (you just need to sign up for one session): Meadowlands 12-4 and 5-9 (www.GreatBeerExpo.com/Meadowlands) and AC 3/20 7:30-12am, 3/21 11:30-4 & 5:30-10 (http://www.acbeerfest.com/). You don’t need to know anything about beer but you do need to be enthusiastic and attentive to woman our table and tell people about the Babes. You also need to buy and wear a discounted $10 Babes T-shirt (sorry but I pay for everything out of pocket and can’t subsidize everyone!). Please email me asap with your preferred sessions, even if you’ve already told me you want to do it.

On Feb. 5 at 6:30, we’re actually going to make our own pizza and appetizers and pair beers at Uno’s Deptford. You heard it, we’ll make our own pizza, ceviche, and fried veggie wraps – plus eat wings — and learn how to pair beers with them. The chef is super stoked to show us and send us home with recipes and prizes. Cost is $45 (including tax and tip). It’ll be worth it if you’ve got the scratch. Please call to RSVP asap. 1162 Hurfville Road, Deptford Township (856) 853-7003. If you don’t know, Uno’s has a spectacular line up of brews. This will be a fun one for your men to hang out at the bar while we play in a private room. They’ll get to try what we’re eating at a special price.

The boyfriend is hosting a fun pub crawl in downtown New Brunswick on 1/16 from 5:30 until whenever to introduce the wildly popular Boulevard Brewing to Central Jersey. Though it’s not an official Babes event, a bunch of us will be hanging out with the Boulevard and Shore Point Distributing folks. One of the world’s nine Master Cicerones (certified beer experts) will be giving us Babes special tutored tastings. If you’re on FB, follow https://www.facebook.com/events/1554702124772537/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular for updates on where we are that night (we’re starting at Stuff Yur Face then going to George Street, Old Bay and World of Beer, in that order for about an hour each) and here’s more info, as per the boy. Oh, this one’s coed. “MARK YOUR CALENDARS. Friday Jan. 16 at 6:00 pmBoulevard Brewing Company takes over George St. in New Brunswick. The Old Bay Restaurant, George St Alehouse and World of Beer – New Brunswick will each have the 3 core styles we will carry on tap. Plus each bar will have 1 different limited release keg. When you order a Boulevard beer at one bar, you will receive a stamp, once you have a stamp from all 3 bars, you get a t-shirt. Simple. Awesome. But, oh, you want more. OK. Besides the Shore Point Distributing craft team and some Duvel/Moortgat sales folk, we will have Master Cicerone Neil Witte hanging out. Yes, MASTER CICERONE (there are 9 in the world). We have waited quite a while for this brand, and very soon their amazing liquid will be here. Glassware and other schwag giveaways as well.”

Stay tuned for details on February beer and chocolate pairing classes, taught by me. I’m hoping to do some in north, south and central Jersey.

To mark our fifth anniversary, we’re going to have a pub crawl in Haddon Township, where we started, in June. Deets TBD.

I think I mentioned in the last newsletter that we’re putting a beer book club together. Details to come. It’s being spearheaded by the lovely Alissa Glavan, who’s a server at the Cloverleaf. Ask for her if you go.

Also, as I said in the last newsletter, we’re forming some straight-up serious committees now and we’re looking, as always, for volunteers. In particular: social media coordinator (will just do publicity to start then will transition into managing our social media outreach) and a scholarship administrator. We also need a few more people on the publicity and festival committees, especially, and we always need people to plan events. Don’t worry, we give you as much hand-holding as you need!

Here’s what’s happening with the structure of our growing group. I’m so excited at all of our new leadership. We’ve got an established publicity committee headed by Stacy Albanese and staffed by Angela Hannah and Chelsea Martin. Angela’s going back to school (yay for her!) so we need to do some restructuring. Our new education committee is chaired by Chelsea and includes Meredith Higbie, Lea Ann Wood, Alissa, Deepti Sinha, and Ashley Melancon, who’s co-chairing the new scholarship committee. Chelsea is also heading the festival committee (she’s amazing). Diana Preziosi, who planned our Fairfield field trip, is heading our philanthropy committee, and Kelly Matthews and Jan Weeks are running the admin committee. Did I forget anyone??

If you’ve got any major life, career or personal beer news you want to share via the newsletter, email me. And don’t forget to join us on social media @beerforbabes.